Carpet-stretcher.



No. 702,222. Patented June ID, !902.

F. L. KIDD.

CABPET STRETCHER.

(Application filed Nov. 27. 1899.)

(No Model.)

INVENTOR WITNESSS ATTORNEY wg kamus Pmns w., morolmo.. WASNNGTON, u. c.

UNITED STAT S FRANK LOTAN KIDD, OF' BlftOOKLYN, TO PAUL TAYLORBROWN,

i P TENT OFFICE;

NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

CARPET-STRETCHEFR.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent N o. *702,222, dated June 10, 1902.

Application filed November 27,1899. Serial No.738,425. (No model.)

1 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK LOTAN KIDD, a citizen of the United States, and a resident ofthe borough of Brooklyn, in the city and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Carpet-Stretchers, of which the following is a specification.

The subject of my invention is a carpetstretcher made with a W-shaped skeleton head, providing a pair of prongs 'projecting downward therefroin to stick into the floor and, at the same time leaving working recesses at the center and ends of the head, which also lightens the tool, operate as a fulcrum, and a row of teeth projecting vertically upward to engage in the under side of the carpet and a projecting centrally-fixed slightly-curved flat handle constituting a lever-arm,so that the upwardly-projecting teeth being pressed into the under side of the carpet and the downwardly-projecting prongs into the floor the projecting handle serves as a lever-arm and the prongs engaging in the floor as a fulcrum, so that by pressing the handle forward and downward the carpet may be stretched, fastened by a tack, and again stretched by a new hold and Secured as many times as necessary, after which the stretcher being removed the edge of the carpet is permanently tacked to the floor.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of my improvedcarpetstretcher. Fig. 2 is a side elevation repre senting the same in use.

From the skeleton head A a pair of prongs or teeth P project downward to engage in the floor and serve as a fulcrum, as illustrated in Fig. 2. The head willpthus be seen to be of W shape, leaving working spaces B at the center and at the ends of the head." From the top of the head H project astraight row of vertical spurs S, adapted to catch into the bottom of the carpet and hold securely thereto without injury to the fabric.

` H represents a projecting centrally-fixed flat but slightly-curved handle serving as a lever-arm. i

In operation the stretcher is placed in the inclinedposition (represented in full lines in Fig; 1) and the carpet being drawn as tight as may be convenient by hand is placed over the upwardly-projecting range of spurs S, upon which it may be forced by the pressure of the foot, so that the spurs engage flrmly in thebottom of the car-pet. The handle H is then pressed down to the floor, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, so that itexerts a povv erf'ul leverage strain, the extremities of the prongs P, which stick into the'floor, serving as a fulcrum. This done, the carpet is tempo rarily Secured by means of a tack driven into the floor, and after the stretcher is removed the edge of the carpet is permanently Secured to the floor close to the wall, as usual. If necessary, the stretching operation may be repeated at each point previously to the final tacking.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

As a new article of manufacture, a carpetstretcher formed with an elongated head portion having depending therefrom two V- shaped prongs producing a I\-shaped recess at the center and a recess at each end; with a row of teeth projecting upwardly from the head; and with a flat integral handle having a slight ogee curve and proj ecting rearwardly from the center of the head above the l\- shaped recess and betweenthe V- shaped prongs, approximately at right angles to'said head, substantially as described.

PAUL T.`BROWVN, OCTAVIUS KNIGHT. 

